Mondo Gelato

Let's see, I ate at Asian Spice for lunch today, then Irashai's open house for some appies followed by a big bowl of Ramen at Kintaro. Do you think I was done for the day? Of course not! Seeing that I had put an hour in the meter and we finished our ramen in about 30 minutes, we had time to kill. I persuaded everyone, including Viv (who was very full and giving me dirty looks), to go for some gelato. We strolled down Denman all the way to Mondo Gelato. I haven't been to Mondo in awhile; but I do remember that they made good gelato.

Mondo has a modest selection of gelato, soy gelato, sorbetto and frozen yogurt. I believe that this is the way to go for a Gelato shop. It is much easier to maintain quality control when there are fewer flavours to produce. Also, the freshness of the product is not compromised since a large selection means that some flavours may not sell as well. I think La Casa Gelato and Amato suffer from this problem, especially La Casa.

I convinced Viv to get 2 scoops to share, all the while getting more dirty looks. We choose Pistacio Gelato and Grapefruit Sorbetto. One thing that stood out immediately was the strong, bold flavour of the gelato and sorbetto. This is probably the best pistacio gelato I've ever had. It really felt like I was eating pistacios because not only did I get the natural flavour; I also got hits of roasted aroma in every scoop. The same could be said about the grapefruit, the flavours were intense. Mind you, the sorbetto was a bit on the icy side. However, the gelato was smooth as silk, not icy bit like Amato. Mondo Gelato is one of my favourites, along with Vivo! and Cumpari's. They are all smooth, packed with flavour and reasonably-priced. Can't go wrong with any of them.

The Good:
- Plenty of flavour
- Smooth gelato
- Reasonably-priced ($3.75 for 2 scoops)

The Bad:
- Small selection (can be a good thing too)

Business Hours:
11:00am - 10:00pm (Sun - Thu)
11:00am - 10:30pm (Fri & Sat)

Kintaro Ramen

Free food and booze. This is a rarity these days. There is no free lunch in this world; except at Irashai Grill's open house today. They were opening their doors to promote their food and of course, the restaurant. I still think they should drop the sushi and go purely Izakaya. Their tapas are some of the best in town (at a price of course). But that's just me, what do I know? Well, I know how to chew. That's essentially what I have been doing non-stop for the last little while. Mind you, after the initial rush of food at 5:00pm sharp, the food came slowly. I don't think the kitchen was able to keep up with the mass of people milling around in the restaurant. Viv and I, joined by Vandelay and Donna Chang, decided that we had sampled our fair share and decided to kick it. I think we left at around 6:00 and the place was so packed, it was hard to move about. It's too bad really, I was really looking forward to meeting up with fellow bloggers Gigi (Ho Yummy) and Kevin (604Foodtography). Alas, I don't really like crowds (especially hungry mobs), so we headed to Kintaro Ramen as a follow-up to our appies at Irashai Grill.

We were expecting the usual lineup at Kintaro; but surprisingly, there was none! We were seated promptly at the counter. Being at the counter made giggly like a little schoolgirl, that's probably why I opted to order the Cheese Ramen. Apparently, on the menu it states that the "ladies just lo-o-ove it!". Er... sure... All the others were a bit boring and ordered the Miso Ramen. However, Vandelay did the "clog-your-arteries" full fat broth, full fat pork version. Yes, at Kintaro, you can choose how you like your broth (rich, medium or light) and fatty or lean pork. Watching the ramen chef make our noodles was pretty cool, especially when he skimmed off fat from the boiling pot of broth to specifically place in Vandelay's bowl. I was able to get a picture of the fatty pork before it was placed in the boiling broth. That was a lot of lard there!

I can honestly say that the broth at Kintaro had plenty of depth. Even Viv's light broth was plenty flavourful; however, it gets really good if you add pork fat. I chose the medium and you can really taste the pork flavour. Donna Chang noted that some people don't like the "porky" flavour here. For me, I think it's perfect, other than being a bit salty. It's slightly sweet, aromatic and rich. There was no shortage of al dente ramen noodles, pork, corn, bean sprouts, menma (bamboo shoots) and onion nestled in the broth. I actually got the lean pork and it had plenty of meat flavour; but Vandelay's fatty pork was outstanding. The slightly melted fat added another depth of pork flavour which only pork fat lovers could appreciate.

For my cheese ramen, the melted cheese (mozzarella and edam?) really worked. Every chopstick full of ramen was laced with stringy cheese. However, the abundance of cheese really made the bowl of noodles heavy and filling. It was difficult to finish at the very end. Throughout the meal, the service was solid. The servers kept checking with us and we never had an empty cup. The restaurant is really small, typical of Japanese noodle houses. You really do not want to stay long, especially right next to the boiling broth.

The Good:
- Big portions (pork is outstanding)
- Hearty & rustic broth
- Good service

The Bad:
- Small restaurant, not a place to linger
- Long lineups

Business Hours:
12:00pm - 11:00pm (Tues - Sun)

Asian Spice

Having recently just dined on Southern Indian cuisine, I met up with Toolman today for some Chinese Indian cuisine at Asian Spice. This particular cuisine is popular in Calcutta where there is a substantial Chinese population. Many of these Chinese originated from Hakka and Canton. Essentially, the cuisine is unmistakeably Chinese with the addition of Indian spices. Hakka Masti and Green Lettuce are 2 other Chinese Indian restaurants along Scott Road. Much like all the other restaurants in the area, there are lunch specials at Asian Spice. For $6.50, you get a choice of entree, rice, and soup or pop. We decided to order 3 meals and share.

10 minutes into our meal, we were surrounded by L.A. Matheson students like a swarm of locusts. Apparently, they take advantage of the specials during their lunch hour. Mind you, they ate and left within 10 minutes. I've never seen people eat a plate of food that fast before. I had once called in to Asian Spice inquiring about their hours and the lady did warn me this happens every lunch hour. So the tip here is to not come here until after 11:45am. However, I didn't really have a choice since my lunch hour is at the same time.

Toolman and I ordered the Chili Prawns, Manchurian Beef and Singapore Fried Noodles. To start, we had the Hot & Sour Soup. This is one of the spiciest hot and sour soups I've ever had. Since I like spice, I really enjoyed it, despite the colour being a bright orange-red. Toolman took the entire meal to finish his, he thought it was a bit too spicy. The fried noodles were pretty standard, which is actually a good thing. It looked and tasted how it should be and that's an achievement for restaurants located out here. Overall, it was pretty mild with plenty of egg, shrimp, onions, cabbage and peppers. The beef dish was slightly disappointing. It was a bit bland and completely overwhelmed by the taste of cilantro. I'm not sure why restaurants use so much cilantro because it is very pungent. A little goes a long way. On the other hand, the chili prawns were fabulous. The sauce had just the right amount of heat. The prawns were big and cooked perfectly. The sauce went really well with the rice.

Toolman and I thought that the lunch specials were a an excellent value. Moreover, the dishes are a slight departure from the usual. Coupled this with good service, Asian Spice is a decent place to go for spicy food.


The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Flavours are bold
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Flavours are bold (for those who like mild food)
- Invasion of high school students during lunch

Business Hours:
11:00am - 10:00pm (Mon - Thu)
11:00am - 10:30pm (Fri)
12:00pm - 10:30pm (Sat)
12:00pm - 10:00pm (Sun)

Mayuri Indian Cuisine

Butter Chicken, Palak Paneer, Tandoori Chicken and Aloo Gobi are some of the more recognizable dishes found in Indian restaurants in the GVRD. What many people do not know is that this is only a very small representation of Indian food. Many of the immigrants from Indian were from the Punjab, which is really a very small area in northern India. Consequently, the majority of Indian cuisine in the GVRD is reflective of the population. This is also very similar to Chinese cuisine where it is predominantly Cantonese food, since many of the early immigrants were from Hong Kong. Trying to find southern Indian cuisine is a bit of a challenge. It's out there; you just need to know where to look for it. Nikita emailed me a few days ago asking if I wanted to go for lunch at Mayuri. I've heard of this place before. It serves both northern and southern Indian cuisine. However, I only had eyes on the Dosas, a specifically southern food. Dosas are essentially crepes made with lentils and rice flour. They can be served plain or filled with practically anything.

Mayuri is located in a very odd place, right smack in the middle of a predominantly industrial complex. If Nikita hadn't invited me to go, I would not know it existed. We had a bit of a problem deciding on the many different dosas available. Alas, Nikita noticed that there as a platter on the last page which included a Masala Dosa, Vada (Savory Lentil Donut), Idli (Steamed Rice Cake) and Lentil Soup. We both ordered this not knowing how much food it really was. When the platter arrived, the dosa was quite large; however, one peek inside revealed that there was only a modest amount of potatoes and onions. We were supplied with 2 condiments which included a coconut chutney and red tomato chutney. The sauces seemed to balance each other out, one being smooth and the other being a tad spicy.

The dosa was nice and crispy; yet a tad too chewy. I broke off large sections and dipped it into the sauces. When I go closer to the filling, I began to eat it in one piece. The vada was excellent. It was very crispy, while being soft and warm on the inside. The idli was soft and fluffy; but Nikita and I were not too found of it, not because it wasn't good, but probably because we were on carb overload. The lentil soup was a nice balance of sweet, spicy and salty. The idli was a bit more bearable to eat once I dipped it into the soup. Balancing the entire meal was the Mango Lassi that I ordered. It's essentially a sweet drink made of mango pulp, yogurt and ice cream. I really enjoyed the drink, it was similar to a milkshake. I thought it was alright, could've had more taste other than sweet.

Seeing that time was a wasting, I really didn't get a chance to finish my dosa. Mind you, even if I did have time I wouldn't have finished it either. I'm not sure if it was the quantity or the fact that I was suffering from carb overload. Whatever the case, it was a decent, if not average meal; but honestly, I like northern Indian cuisine better.

The Good:
- It's something a bit different
- Inexpensive

The Bad:
- Weird location
- Food is pretty average
- Lack of staff

Business Hours:
11:00am - 9:30pm (7 days a week)

Gulberg Tandoor & Donair

I often wonder why some restaurants do not get it. Why do they charge ridiculous prices for very little food. Yes, food quality is a consideration; however, you really want to go away feeling satisfied and full. And honestly, I'm not even talking about fine dining. That's another topic altogether. I had a discussion with Milhouse the other day and he explained that all he wants is not to be hungry after a meal. He's not looking to be stuffed; rather, just no longing for more. It brings me back to the Filet-O-Fish meal example. If I have to go get a Filet-O-Fish meal after I have already eaten, then I have not been satisfied. Today, I went to a place that truly personifies good portions, good quality and reasonable prices. That, my friends, is the winning formula for success. Again, for those who are confusing my rant with finer establishments, particularly in prime locations (ie. downtown), I am not referring them here.

On a recommendation from KDee, I travelled a fair distance to the Kwantlan College campus in Surrey. Across the street is Gulberg Tandoor & Donair. You might be asking why I drove so far to get a donair. Honestly, I was asking myself the same question. To my surprise, this was not a regular donair shop. Rather, the restaurant itself was quite spacious and the menu had more items than I expected. Yes, donairs were on the menu; but there was quite the variety. On the outside of the building, it advertises souvlaki and there is actually a picture of a burger on the awning. This is one diverse place. Multiculturalism at work here.

Since I was short on time, I had to get the items to go. I ordered the Chicken Tikka, which includes a chicken leg and salad. This was a tremendous deal at $3.99. I also ordered the large Chicken Donair for $5.99. It wasn't until I got back that I realized there was so much food for under $10.00. The donair was massive, packed with enough chicken for 2 donairs. Moreover, there were plenty of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce shoehorned into the donair. What I did next made it hard for me to eat the donair - I opened it up in the middle to take a picture. Oh well, the sacrifices I make for pictures! The one thing I can say about the donair is freshness. You could tell the ingredients were good quality and fresh. That would be the same for the chicken tikka. The salad was essentially the same tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce from the donair. The chicken was tender and flavourful without being salty.

The reason for all this talk of freshness is that Gulberg is not only a restaurant, it's a market right next door. Therefore, all their produce and meats are sourced in-house. I'm sure this also helps lower the cost as well. I really wish restaurants would clue in that volume can be a money-maker; rather than charging more in the hopes of taking in more profit. Moreover, this way, the food stays fresh since the turnover is high. Ultimately, Gulberg qualifies as another hidden gem where you can find good, fresh eats at very reasonable prices.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Food is both plentiful and good
- Everything is fresh

The Bad:
- Identity problem, what kind of restaurant is this?

Business Hours:
11:00am - 9:00pm (7 days a week)

Guu @ Aberdeen

After 2 kids parties back-to-back, the last thing I wanted to do was cook. So I had made plans for us to meet up with my parents for some Guu Izakaya. There are 4 locations in the GVRD and I decided on the one at Aderdeen in Richmond. Wait, of all the locations I could've visited, I chose Richmond. Wendy (Eat `n About) must be right, Richmond is growing on me (or at least there is good food there). I guess my childhood fears which have followed me to adulthood may be somewhat subsiding. After all, I have survived going to Richmond all these years, it can't be all that bad? I don't recall being cut off this time around; but there was this person signalling right every time he turned right in the Aberdeen parking lot. Um... realistically, you can only turn right, otherwise you'll hit parked cars if you turned left. So let me get this straight, people do not signal when they cut you off; but signal in an enclosed parking lot when you have no other direction to go? Go figure.

Guu at Aberdeen is hidden away behind Northern Delicacy. If you weren't looking for it, you'd miss it. Of course when we entered the restaurant, the yelling (I mean greetings) erupted loudly. As with any Izakaya, the dining space is dark. An absolutely horrible environment to take pictures. Luckily, my built-in flash works pretty well; yet I have to get up close and personal with the food. Unlike the other Guu locations, the one in Richmond has sushi. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing; however, it definitely blurs the line between Izakaya and a regular Japanese restaurant. I had no intentions of ordering sushi here since I could do that at any other Japanese restaurant. What I did order were the following: Beef Sashimi, Fried Prawns, BBQ Duck, Grilled Scallops, Gyu Shabu Salad, Marinated Beef Tongue, Misomayo Black Cod, Salmon Yukke, Takoyaki, Ton Toro, Unagi Cha and Yakiudon.

Arriving on a bed of daikon, the beef sashimi was impressively presented. The beef was seared perfectly with the centre exhibiting a wonderful red colour. The ginger tomato sauce was light and it didn't detract from the beef taste. However, some might find it bland. We also ordered the Fried Prawns, which were accompanied by a spicy mayo. Although the prawns were very crunchy, it seemed like they spent a bit too much time in the fryer. As you can see in the picture, they look a bit dark. On the other hand, the BBQ duck was perfectly prepared. The meat was tender and not overdone. It was also very delicately flavoured. I wasn't exactly sure what the sauce was; but my best guess is a light ponzu.

After trying Tenku Bakudanyaki last week, it made me long for takoyaki. They're not exactly the same; but they're similar. I actually prefer the smaller takoyaki because they are easier to eat. The fried octopus balls were very good. Lightly crisp on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. The sauce, which contains Worcester, added necessary flavour since the balls are delicate in flavour. Continuing on the bland theme, the grilled scallops were naturally sweet; yet other than that, they were bland. You could taste some garlic and of course the accompanying mushrooms; but that was about it. I suppose that there was a lack of caramelization, which is preferable when eating grilled or seared scallops.

Whenever it is available at an Izakaya, we always order salmon yukke. Despite this, I've never been a fan of the salmon yukke at Guu. For some reason, it seems a bit watery and bland. This time was no exception. However, the salmon was fresh and I do like the crunchy shrimp chips as a eating vessel. By now, you might be thinking that everything was bland. Well, the ton toro (pork cheeks) were not bland; in fact it was bathed in a sweet miso sauce. Yet, the highlight of this dish was the texture of the meat. It was "seong" which means the meat was the opposite of mushy. There is no proper term for this in English; however, I think the closest description for this would be crunchy (in a cold-water shrimp kind of way). Another flavourful dish was the marinated grilled beef tongue. I wasn't exactly sure what it was marinated in exactly; but it definitely was soy-based. In addition to being flavourful, the tongue was tender without being too soft.

Continuing on the flavourful theme, the black cod was quite tasty with a good balance of saltiness and sweetness. The miso mayo dressing baked on top of the piece of fish not only flavoured the fish, it helped keep it moist. Too bad it was a bit overcooked; thus it was not as flaky as it should be. We ordered the yakiudon (not pictured) mainly for the kiddies; but there was more than enough for everyone else to try. I did try it and it was pretty good. Accompanying the udon was quite a bit of beef, mushrooms and scallions. Although the udon was not bland, it was delicately flavoured, being mostly on the sweeter side. One dish that was relatively boring was the gyu shabu salad. It is boiled beef on a bed of greens with a sesame dressing. Aesthetically, it was ugly and the taste was predictably bland. There needed to be more dressing, or the beef need to be boiled in a more flavourful broth. To revert back to the bland theme, the unagi cha was the blandest of all. To be fair, it was probably the flavour profile of the dish. It was essentially ungai on rice bathed in tea. It reminded me of pouring Chinese clear soup into a bowl of rice. It's pleasant to eat; but flavourful it's not. I'm sure someone will like it; it's all personal preference.

Personal preference or not, the one thing that seemed consistent was the blandness of most of the food. Maybe I like things more salty and rich or maybe it was indeed bland. Compared to other Izakayas, including the Guu on Thurlow, the Guu at Aberdeen seems to be inferior. With that being said, I still enjoyed my meal. For what it's worth, Guu is reasonably-priced and their food is generally pretty good. The service was very good, probably because it wasn't too busy. We had servers check on us at regular intervals, helping us removed finished and dirty plates. It may not be as good as the other Guu locations; but it's certainly not horrible. It can still hold its own in Richmond.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Relatively spacious
- Good service

The Bad:
- A bit too delicate in taste
- Sushi? Izakaya or not?

Guu in Aberdeen
#2790 - 4151 Hazelbridge Way
Richmond, B.C.
604-295-6612
www.guu-izakaya.com

EAT! Vancouver 2009

Honestly, I really wasn't planning to attend EAT! Vancouver this year. I am not a big fan of crowds, lineups and noise. However, seeing that Kevin had written up a nice post about it, I decided to go. Moreover, it seemed like everyone was going - was it foodie peer pressure??? Actually I was quite famished since I really didn't eat lunch and had just finished playing hockey. I guess it was a good thing to go somewhere that was solely based on everything food.

Viv and I were lucky to get a parking spot right on Expo Blvd and we took in the nice weather as we strolled up to BC Place. Upon entering, we were overwhelmed by smoke. Naturally, we knew it was from one of the vendors cooking food. Later, we found out it was the Izakaya booth (there was lots of smoke coming from them!), and a really long lineup waiting for their food. As I mentioned, I hate lineups and didn't bother with them. The first thing we did see was the mushroom scones from the All Seasons Mushrooms booth. I've never had mushroom scones; but they were really yummy. A nice "earthy" taste to them. Pushing our way through the crowds, we ended up in front of Ace Curries. They specialize in prepackaged curry mixes that can easily be prepared at home. I tried both of their samples (Butter Chicken and Channa Masala) and I was impressed with the taste and consistency of the sauces. Compared to another exhibit, Gourmantra, Ace Curries was definitely better. The sauces at Gourmantra were watery and bland.

One booth that attracted my attention was Boylan beverages. They had unique naturally flavoured and cane sugar sweetened soft drinks. I tried the ginger ale and it was very good. The use of natural ginger really gave it a kick. Further up ahead, we spotted a really nice display of oils. Turns out, it was John Spenger's of Napa Valley Bistro Blends. We tried a few of the offerings and we came away very impressed. The ones that stood out were Truffle Oil, 18-Year Old Raspberry Balsamic, Garlic Parmesan and Chardonnay & Roasted Garlic Marinade. I particularly loved the 18-year old raspberry. It was so rich and sweet, I can see why people drizzle it on ice cream. We were actually intending to buy some of the oils; however, we got sidetracked. We later found out you can order them from the Internet.

Wandering further into the crowds, we spotted some smoked rockfish on a cold platter. The fish was delicious. It was sweet and smoky with a bit of chewiness to it. I can definitely see this on a bagel with cream cheese in place of smoked salmon. The rockfish is produced by a local company - Ocean Amber. Now onto the Consulate General of Indonesia, which apparently was Kevin's and Kim's favourite exhibit for a variety of reasons. They were serving Nasi Tumpeng which is essentially a cone of rice served with various dishes. Today, it consisted of a chicken wing, a liver & potato curry, egg and veggies. The dish looked much better than it tasted. It wasn't bad, but due to the circumstances, it was cold and mostly bland. I'm sure in a more ideal situation, it would be much better. It was quite comical with our order because the girl forming the cone of rice did an epic fail when the cone came out halfway and collapsed on the plate. Fortunately the second time it worked well. However, that must be a tough gig since it looks like a lot of effort for each rice cone. Imagine that for the entire day!

Seeing that we were still a bit hungry, we picked up a few sheets of tickets and tried some of the Bite exhibitors. While I getting more tickets, Viv got some prawns with sweet chili sauce and a mango drink from Aththi. The prawns were pretty good and the mango drink was refreshing. After that, we headed over to the Dona Cata booth and grabbed a couple of tacos. One was pulled pork and the other chicken. I was squeezing hot sauce on the tacos and it seemed to jam on some seeds. As I was still squeezing, Viv pulled the plate away. Yes, that's when the bottle became unclogged. Well, at least the carpet was the same colour as the sauce. I really liked the tacos, the meat was tender and the flour tortillas were soft. I can only imagine how good they would be at the actual restaurant.

We used nearly the rest of the tickets at Jamaican Jerk. These guys were a hoot. Very friendly and working the crowd. I was only going to get a Jamaican beef patty; but somehow came out of it with a Jamaican deep dish pizza. It was certainly interesting. I think it would be best that I sampled a full size one to make a better judgement of the food. After we briskly ate the food (there were very few places to sit), we headed back to Aquastar to try some of the food. The Aquastar booth was actually promoting sustainable seafood. Yet, they seemed to have wonderful looking food too. They had seafood curries, fried prawns and whole King Crab legs. We passed on the crab legs because it seemed difficult to eat under the prevailing conditions. We opted for the vermicelli wrapped fried prawns. These babies were awesome. The fried noodle gave a really nice crunch on the outside of the prawn.

By then we were getting a bit tired of all the lineups and people, so we tried to see what we could get for our 4 remaining tickets. Apparently there was very little choice except for the Japanese Izakaya or the kebabs at Ashaiana. Seeing that there was a 30 minute lineup at the Izakaya, we headed over to Ashaiana. We ended up choosing one pork and one chicken kebab. However, looking at the picture, why was one of them a drumstick? Either they gave us the wrong one or the chicken drumstick was a kebab??? Anyways, the pork one was very tender and packed with onions. The chicken drumstick was a bit overdone; but it did have lots of flavour.

There were many more booths that we missed, including the wine exhibits. We just didn't feel like staying for that. Again, I really didn't want to go in the first place; however, it was not too bad, overall we had a good time. But I can't get over the fact that it resembled the PNE Showmart in many ways, complete with the Sham-Wow booth. One minor gripe were the goodie bags they handed out at the entrance. They were black and if you held onto them long enough, they turned your hand black as well. Viv didn't like that since she was holding the bags. She was also quite miffed at having to carry such a heavy bag with a Mott's Clamato in it. She really doesn't like Mott's Clamato. Lastly, there was this lady trying to sell me some biscotti by trying to trick me. She asked if I wanted to "try" them. I said sure, she replied "8 dollars". I said I wanted to try them, not buy them. She replied "oh we don't have any samples". This definitely reminded me of the PNE Showmart!

The Good:
- Lots to see, lots to do
- Lots of samples
- Some interesting products

The Bad:
- Lots of people
- Lots of lineups
- Looks and feels like the PNE Showmart

EAT! Vancouver
BC Place Stadium
www.eat-vancouver.com